


So let me hold you, come with me

by IWroteThisForYou



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Fluff, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-02-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,925
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22854142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IWroteThisForYou/pseuds/IWroteThisForYou
Summary: Dimitri meets Claude in Sylvain's frat house at a party. As the days pass by, they grow closer.- That typical falling in love university AU but with Dimitri and Claude.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Claude von Riegan
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	So let me hold you, come with me

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I haven't played Fire Emblem: Three Houses. My friend got me into this pairing after sharing fanart and basic knowledge about them. Their characters may be a little off. 
> 
> Thank you if you do end up giving this a read :)

Sylvain is going to be a little mad. Dimitri will worry about that later though. He needed to get away from the drunk messes dancing on the first floor. He distantly heard someone yell, “strip, strip, strip!” followed by Felix’s angry yelling and well, he needed to get away for awhile. He locks the door of Sylvain’s room, flicks on the lights, and turns to get ready to lay down on Sylvian’s large, comfy bed. 

Instead he finds a person. 

A rather attractive person. 

They awkwardly stare at each other for a minute, taking each other in, until Dimitri continues to prove that he can’t function normally by saying, “Please get out.” 

He feels his face heat up, worrying that his entire face has turned into a reddish hue. He didn’t mean for it to sound rude. He’s tired and irritable from agreeing with Sylvain on attending his frat party. The guy, to his surprise, instead of being offended, lets out a small chuckle. 

“Sad to think I won’t be able to at least get your name before I go,” The guy smirks at him.

It’s rather unfortunate really, Dimitri has always had a weak spot for smirky, good looking guys. 

Dimitri looks up from the wooden floor, softly saying, “Dimitri.” 

The guy still smirking, with a small glisten in his emerald eyes, sits up straighter and pats the mattress, his voice carries a tiny bit of amusement when he says, “Well, Dimitri, sit down. I don’t bite."

He should leave, go find Mercedes, Ashe, maybe even Felix, someone that might want to leave, to finally go home and peacefully fall asleep in the comfort of his room. He even considers calling Dedue to pick him up, even though Dimitri knows Dedue is studying for an upcoming Physiology and Ecology exam. He will still come but Dimitri doesn’t want to bother. Somewhere deep down he honestly doesn’t want to leave. He is awful talking to strangers, only staying close to his friends, but the stranger’s smiling eyes, crooked smile, and inviting voice are difficult to ignore. Dimitri moves to sit next to him. 

“My name is Claude, in case you were wondering.” 

Claude. That name sounds familiar. It’s also really pretty. Pretty like him. 

“What are you doing here? Are you hiding?” Dimitri asks. 

“You could say that.” 

The silence that follows should be awkward, yet it’s anything but that. Dimitri feels oddly comfortable with Claude. Dimitri hasn’t felt like that with a person in so long, even when Mercedes, Annette, and Ashe joined their friend group. It’s pleasant. 

“I think Sylvain started stripping and Felix started yelling at him not to. I couldn’t find any of my friends and the living room was packed with all the people dancing. I decided to go to Sylvain’s room and try to nap. That’s why I am here.” 

He hears unexpected laughter and turns towards Claude. The sound is careful, gentle, and inoffensive. Soft and angelic in nature. Dimitri finds himself blushing for the second time today at his thoughts. 

“We should probably leave this room then. Sylvain tends to get excited after layers are removed. We wouldn’t want to interrupt,” Claude says. “Though, I am more concerned about him interrupting us.” 

Dimitri, the human disaster that he is, responds with, “Are you flirting with me?” 

Claude snorts a laugh in his direction, “I suppose you’re not one for subtlety.” He turns his head to face Dimitri’s, placing his hands behind him for support, “Yes, I am flirting with you.” 

“I have seen you before. I see you two times a week. You wait for Mercedes outside her Home Economics classroom. Don’t worry, I don’t stalk you, “ Claude exclaims with an easy smile. “ One of my friends, Marianne, takes the same class. You’re not hard to miss.” 

He likes visiting Mercedes whenever he can, sometimes she gives him fresh pastries that she’s practically proud of to eat on their way to their shared home. He hasn’t seen Claude before, Dimitri is certain he would have remembered him. Claude has an unforgettable face. However, he has been told that he tends to get into his head a lot, especially when he’s alone. Dimitri wonders if he should be more aware of his surroundings when he maneuvers around campus. 

Also, Claude is flirting with him. A good looking guy with pretty eyes, a nice smile, perfect bone structure, and a smoothing voice is flirting with him. He is going to combust.

“Thank you. You are pleasing to the eye, as well,” Dimitri formally comments. “I apologize for not seeing you sooner. I don’t pay attention to my surroundings as much as I should.” 

“Maybe you should push your golden locks away from your face,” Claude says moving to push a long strand behind his ear, “Show the world those big blue eyes, don’t you think?” 

Blue meets green, both their faces burning and then Dimitri opens his mouth. 

“I put my hair up when I play tennis.” He goes to demonstrate, “My hair would be a distraction when I’m serving and passing the ball back and forth. I often get my hair ties from Annette, I am not sure if you know her, but she has short hair and she uses the thin, tighter ones as opposed to the chunky, softer ones most of my other friends use. I would get them from Felix but he doesn’t like people touching his stuff.” 

A snicker cuts Dimitri off from his rambling, further adding to his embarrassment, “Sorry, I ramble when I’m nervous.” 

“Do I make you nervous?” Claude asks, after his snickering died down. His smile minimising, eyes growing concern, “I hope I am not making you uncomfortable.” 

“Oh no!” Dimitri exclaims, waving his hands. “I am not uncomfortable.” 

He sighs, making eye contact with Claude, “You’re really pretty and the words you are saying are so nice. Boys like you are not inclined to talk to me. It’s a new experience for me. I’m just a little nervous.” He awkwardly ends with a laugh. 

With a slight flush on his cheeks and shocked eyes, Claude adds, “You’re a bit of a sweet - talker. I’m surprised you haven’t swayed anyone with your chivalrous behavior before.” 

Dimitri flushes, having not expected a light flush to appear on Claude’s face after the ravenette’s continuous flirting. He doesn’t understand why Claude’s actions cause him to behave differently. Other people have never had the same effect that Claude’s words have on him. There is a small part of him that wonders if Claude is being genuine; his words are laced with playfulness, too carefree to be serious, and his actions are, well, questionable. 

Aside from that, Claude seems to have noticed him a while ago, a fact Dimitri still can’t wrap his head around, and it was purely coincidence that they both ended up running away from the party to hide in Sylvain’s room. 

Which reminds him. 

“How do you know Sylvain?” 

“That’s unexpected. To think I compliment you and you go and think of another man,” Claude teases, dramatically putting the back of his hand on his forehead. “What will I do now that the object of my affection has rendered me to ruin.”

“I would tell you but I like the idea of you trying to guess even better.” Claude continues, throwing in a wink after his melodrama

Dimitri pouts, quite frustrated that he won’t reveal the details, “Would you tell me some other time?” 

Claude’s smile falters and then rises again, small, almost a touch more sincere, “Yeah. I’ll tell you another time.” 

Vibration from Claude’s phone breaks their eye contact, he types something out before pocketing his phone. 

“My friend is here to pick me up. I have to go now or else she will leave without me.” 

Claude goes towards the door, hesitating before turning the knob. He turns to look at Dimitri with his eyes shining and light - heartly says, “Don’t go thinking about other guys before we meet again.” 

With a wink and a small wave towards Dimitri’s direction, he leaves before the blond can get a word out. Dimitri stays put after, replaying their conversation in his head, somewhat disappointed he didn’t receive his number but he doesn’t worry about it for long. 

They will see each other on Monday. 

-

“Are you thinking of Claude again?” 

Dedue’s voice fills his ears. It’s Friday night which means family dinner night; today they are eating fettuccine alfredo with complementary garlic breadsticks made by Merdeces and Ingrid. They have been passing the time with conversations of their day and upcoming exams or activities. Dimitri has been in and out, only contributing when he has something important to say or a question being directed towards him. Sylvain has been angrily talking about the rude customer Ashe had to deal with while Ashe tries to calm him down by massaging the back of his neck. He thinks Felix’s murmurs, “I would have broken his legs if I was there.” 

Dedue’s question goes unnoticed by everyone around the table. 

“No,” Dimitri whispers hastily. Dedue suspiciously eyes him. 

“I mean,”Dimitri twirls a strand of fettuccine with his fork to avoid looking at his eyes. “I have. I haven’t seen him since the party, not even when I go to wait for Mercedes outside her class. It’s silly,” He weakly chuckles, “I am starting to wonder if I imagined him.” 

He feels Dedue’s eyes burning the left side of his face. 

Sylvain woke him up on Sunday by constantly poking his cheek and annoyingly singing “Good morning.” Ashe was there to offer coffee and a ride to their house, while Sylvain stayed to help clean his frat house. Dimitri spends the rest of the day finishing up his work for his Abnormal Psychology class and tried to ignore the emerald eyes invading his mind, wishing that the excitement in his stomach would die down. 

The silence between them stretches, contrasting everyone's loud chatter. Annette and Sylvain are talking about auditioning for the adaptation of “The Count of Monte Cristo” with Mercedes and Ashe’s encouraging commentary thrown in once in a while. Blending into the background are Felix and Ingrid sitting quietly eating their food. 

Finally Dedue whispers, “Maybe, you should talk to someone who might know him. You said you guys spoke for a while. There has to be someone we know that knows him.” 

Dedue says it with an air of ease that Dimitri wonders why he didn’t do that in the first place. 

-

He finds Sylvain in the living room with Annette a couple of hours after their dinner. He doesn’t want to bother them but he also wants to know if Sylvain knows about Claude. Before he can decide for himself, Annette spots him on the threshold. 

“Hey Dimitri!” 

“What’s up?” Sylvain adds. 

“Hi,” Dimitri starts. “Are you guys busy?” 

“Nah, I am helping her study for her Theater 101 exam. She’s been answering all of them correctly. She deserves a break,” He says while ruffling her hair. 

Annette lets out a small, annoyed cry of “Sylvain” before fixing her hair. Dimitri goes to sit next to her on the couch, thinking about the best way to ask his question. He doesn’t want to outright ask. Dedue is the only one who knows about Claude, after Dimitri accidentally spilled his name, and honestly Dimitri has been wanting to talk to someone about Claude and Dedue had willingly and patiently listened, even when Dimitri rambled and stuttered about Claude’s beauty. 

Dimitri trusts and loves his friends. He can’t figure out why it’s hard for him to talk to them about Claude. 

“Sylvian, do you happen to know a guy named Claude?” 

He removes his eyes from the scatter of notebooks in the coffee table to meet Sylvain’s. The latter seems to be thinking it over, tapping his pointer finger on his knees. The longer it takes, the more worried Dimitri gets. 

“I don’t think I do.” 

Those words cause an ache that he hasn’t felt in a long time. 

“Oh.” Dimitri mutters. 

“Why did you ask?” Sylvain slowly asks. Annette nods to his words. 

Dimitri claps his hands together tightly, still having difficulty admitting to being interested in someone. He knows they wouldn’t say anything horrible about it. Everyone accepts Sylvain, Ashe, and Felix’s poly relationship but it leaves him wondering if they would find it odd that he is voluntarily looking for someone. 

“I met him on Friday during your party. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him.” 

Annette gasps dramatically, covering her mouth with her fingers. Sylvain lets out a sigh, solemnly removes his glasses, placing them on the coffee table. He looks at Annette, then at Dimitri, and finally says, “wow.” 

“Wow?” 

“Yeah! No offense but you have never shown genuine interest in someone unless one of us pushed you. It’s nice to see you like this,” Sylvain explains then perks up as if releasing something. 

“Why don’t you have his number?” 

“I never got it.” 

Annette snorts before covering it with a cough. 

Sylvain sits up straighter, placing his hands on his knees, preparing himself for the rest of this conversation. 

“Dimitri, if someone doesn’t give you their number, it means they are not interested,” He describes to Dimitri slowly. 

He grows red in the face, irritated that they believe he would be pursuing someone that wasn’t interested, as well, as well feeling insulted at being patronized. 

“Claude says that he sees me waiting outside of Mercedes’ Home Economics class because he has a friend that takes the same class. He said we would see each other again but I didn’t see him on Monday or Wednesday,” Dimitri frustratingly clarifies, a pout beginning to form. 

Laughter breaks from Sylvain and Annette, clacking uncontrollably. Arms crossed, refusing to make eye contact with his friends, he sees why he should have kept this to himself. 

As the laughter dies down, Annette struggles to breathe and Sylvain remains on the floor hiccuping from when he fell. 

Her voice is struggling to come out as she says the one statement he should have registered a while ago, “Then go ask Mercedes.” 

-

He doesn’t go ask Mercedes. 

Dimitri planned to, however he didn’t want to experience the same embarrassment he felt when asking Sylvain and Annette. In the end, he distracted himself with tennis practise, his upcoming assignments, and hanging out with his friends, enough that Claude wasn’t in his mind as much. 

Unexpectedly, Claude approaches him outside of Mercedes' class building on Monday. 

"Hi, Dimitri," He says. “Enjoying the sun?” 

Claude looks the same yet so much better. The sun is bright today, making the air humid and clingy. It allows for his freckles to be more prominent, a feature he didn’t notice in the fluorescent lighting. Claude's wearing a white, simple t shirt and a pair of ripped jeans that cling to him perfectly contrasting his own light blue Lacoste polo and dark wash jeans. Claude’s smile is just the same, small and blinding. 

“Oh, hi,” Dimitri returns the smile, hoping it doesn’t look awkward, “Yes. How are you? I haven’t seen you around.” 

Claude’s expression shifts, faintly more tense than it used to be. 

“Sorry,” Claude starts, “The past week had been more hectic than I expected.” 

Dimitri backtracks, worrying he might have offended him, “I’m sorry if that sounded accusatory. You don’t have to explain yourself. I ended up looking forward to when I would be seeing you again and didn’t realise you could’ve been busy.” He decides to be cheeky and says, “You’re the only guy I thought of.” 

Claude gently laughs, his former tension leaving him. He moves closer to Dimitri, placing a hand on his shoulder, “You don’t have to apologize. You did nothing wrong.” 

Dimitri melts into his touch, inviting even in the summer heat. Claude appears to have noticed, a glimmer appears on his eyes, as he moves the hand on his shoulder to intertwine hands with Dimitri’s own. Out of the corner at his eyes, Dimitri sees students leaving the building, he spots Mercedes’s grey head in the crowd moving away from him. Knowing Mercedes, she didn’t want to disturb him. 

“Come on, let’s go to one of my favorite cafes. If you keep saying sweet things like that, I will reward you with my number,” Claude winks again, signaling that he was being playful but the squeeze of his hand says otherwise. The green in his eyes reminiscent of honey. 

He wonders what kind of magic Claude possesses, how he has been able to make him a different man in a short time. He makes Dimitri melt like no other, gets him excited for typical situations, and his touch soothes and thrills him simultaneously. He wonders if he causes the same effect on Claude, that everything he is feeling is reciprocated. Dimitri doesn’t know for sure, maybe he will later, but as Claude keeps looking into his eyes, he is determined to show Claude how he feels. 

Dimitri will like to get to know him too. He wants to know everything; his full name, his birthday, his family, his friends, his major, what he likes, dislikes, hobbies, everything and anything he will reveal. He wants Claude’s trust, his touch, and his flirty banter. He doesn’t mind if they end up as friends, having any relationship with Claude would be marvelous. 

He returns the squeeze, Claude leading the way to their destination, as the sun’s heat heightens their flushed cheeks.

**Author's Note:**

> Please give me your honest opinion so I can end up improving for later chapters. Also, the main title and chapter titles are from EXO's Groove.


End file.
